


The Resistance

by TheDyingSun



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Banditos - Freeform, Dema fic, First Time, Kidnapping Attempt, M/M, Rescue Missions, Slow-ish burn, Trench Fic, What are we calling it now?, attempted strangulation, dat sweet sweet sexual tension, one violent scene, please just be aware of the tags!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-10-05
Packaged: 2019-07-20 17:43:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16142270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDyingSun/pseuds/TheDyingSun
Summary: Josh swallows down the question of whether or not Tyler needs help setting up his own tent.He doesn't, because he's not sleeping there tonight.





	1. Chapter 1

 

Tyler is a weird one.

Weird, but he deserves to be free.

He'd first come to Josh during a raid to free another member of Koens' district, flying in on the wings of a rumour. It was reckless, could have led the guards right to them- but it didn't.

His potential for stealth was seen right away, by both Josh and the rest of the council. He was shaky, stumbled over his words, but he was so soft-footed, his movements possessing a purposeful grace that Josh had never seen. Unlike many others, there was no objection whatsoever to Tyler joining their ranks.

Tyler was passed around for his training, but something kept bringing him back to Josh. There was a chemistry, unspoken, and when Tyler trained with Josh it felt _natural_. It was unusual for someone so new to be let into the main raiding party, the one that Josh had worked hard to lead, had earned by escaping his own district and finding the Banditos in Trench all by himself- but Tyler was quick to find his niche, scouting the districts with practised care, easily blending in with the other forlorn residents, his soulful eyes disarming even the most suspicious of his motives. Tyler's intel changed everything, and it quickly became apparently that if they wanted to free all of the districts one day, they'd need him.

Tyler's _eager_ to help too. He's found his purpose here, taking on his own solo missions at the lightest of prompts, doing all he can to find more potential escapees, to help as many as possible. Josh has loved watching his confidence grow, blooming like those yellow flowers he loved so much.

In the months they've had him, Tyler's emerged from his shell- still peculiar, still soft, but so involved. Now that he's proven his drive, his competence, Tyler's grown less shy and more quietly commanding. Everyone trusts Tyler now; and Tyler trusts Josh.

 

He's in Josh's tent now, bent over the map of Listo's district, thin, twitchy fingers tracing over the outlines of buildings. Josh just gives up trying to control the conversation, and hands him the pen.

“-there's a door here,” Tyler's saying, leaning over the map, slouching around the notes he's making. “Resistance members,” he mutters, shaking his head as he draws a question mark. “Don't know if they know about us or if they would want to join. Might be bait- but there's a new girl, she'd be suitable if we get to her fast enough.”

“Talents?” Josh asks- and he always feels guilty focusing on that, but he has the well-being of all the Banditos on his mind.

Tyler doesn't seem to be judging him for that. He's smirking, which is rare, and Josh feels something grow in his chest. He stands up straight, and meets Tyler's gaze, as well as the momentum behind it.

“Medical training,” Tyler says, and Josh's heart races. He moves around the table, about to clutch Tyler's shoulders with excitement, but he stops short. Josh is a squad leader... he needs to mind when and where he touches his raiders.

“ _Tyler_ ,” Josh says instead, putting all the urgency in his voice. “If you bring us a medic...”

“I know,” Tyler says, looking Josh in the eyes with a soft appeal, a resolve that's gentle but also as deep as the ocean. “I'm going to, Josh. I'm going to, for you.”

“For all of us,” Josh says, but he doesn't feel it as much. He knows Tyler by now, knows that Tyler is loyal to the Banditos as a whole, but that he focuses on a select few, would die for them without question. “When should we send a party?” Josh asks, keeping on the mission. There's always, always a mission.

“Tomorrow night,” Tyler says. Josh immediately starts to object, but Tyler cuts him off. “I know you're going after the kids in Nills' district at the same time- but I only need a few- give me Mark and Shap, keep the rest.”

Josh considers this, eyes sliding closed for a moment. He loves his raiders dearly, and he doesn't like to split them up. He needs Mark and Shap both, especially if they're going to break out more than one person. They've been working on the family of political prisoners for weeks now, and Josh can't budge on the date. But he also trusts Tyler more than he's willing to think about.

“Take Jenna,” he says.

Tyler nods, his chest puffing a little, like he's drawing in the breath he'd been holding. He stays with Josh for another moment, caught in the loop, before he nods, gaze drifting down.

This time Josh does take Tyler by the shoulders, making Tyler's eyes snap back up.

“You don't have to do this,” he says, but Tyler's so quick to dismiss the offer.

“I'm going to,” he says again.

 

And Tyler does. He and Jenna return with a nurse in tow, not a day over 18, plump and scared, clutching her torch like it's her only anchor to reality- and right now it might be. Josh remembers the shock of leaving Dema for the first time, of being somewhere so void of concrete and so full of colour.

Josh only wished he could've been there when the trio arrived, but the raiding of Nills district had gone southwest _fast_ , and he suspected a rat. Guards had met them at every turn, so they'd switched from whispers to fists, fought for their right to flee, and made it out with two of the three children, and neither of the parents.

“Where's John?” Michael had gasped, as they stumbled back to the camp. He'd set down the boy he'd been carrying, who immediately ran to Josh in a desperate display fear and gratefulness. Josh knelt to let the boy throw his arms around him, followed by his slightly older brother. Josh had hugged back, comforting the boys and holding his tongue about how he'd failed their sister, and their parents.

 

Josh and Michael had shared a grim look over the boy's heads.

“Spread the word that he's missing,” Josh told Michael. “If another party finds him...”

Josh checked on the rest of his raiders in order to distract himself, but the mood was tense. It was then that Josh spotted Tyler and Jenna and their _gift_ at the other end of the camp, helping the girl climb onto the plateau.

 

It's not until much later that Josh trudges back to his tent, his mind a heavy swirl of conflicting emotions. Had they lost John, or had he defected- and for what? What could the bishops offer him that didn't involve continuing to be their prisoner? What was enticing enough enough to betray their people, all of whom had been through so much?

He's so lost in these thoughts that he misses Tyler at first, thinks he's alone when he yanks his shirt off and throws it onto his bed roll. Tyler clears his throat; Josh doesn't have the energy to be startled.

Tyler's rough-looking, but seems to pay it no mind as he closes in on Josh. Tyler grasps Josh's biceps tightly, and moves him- and Josh realizes he's dizzy, because he's completely unable to tell where he's being steered to. He feels the chair press around his back before he understands that he's been sat down.

“Good,” Tyler says, standing up straight again. “Stay there.”

Josh stays.

A few minutes later sees Tyler return with Josh's wash basin in hand. He's also holding a damp cloth, and Josh's carefully shakes his head.

“I already tended to these.” He gestures to the cuts on nose, and holds out his knuckles for Tyler to see. Each one is a show of how far Josh will go. Punches taken, punches landed.

“It's not for that,” Tyler says softly, and presses the cloth to Josh's forehead and- _oh_.

He's suddenly aware of his body again, starting at the point where the cool fabric touches him, and radiating downward. A bit of water trickles from the cloth, down his temple, then curls around the shell of his ear, and falls. He expects to feel it hit his shoulder, but he realizes that Tyler's hand is there instead, lightly bracing him as Tyler leans over and dabs the cloth on either side of his temples.

“Close your eyes,” Tyler says. Josh does.

The linen presses gently against one eyelid, and stays there, molding into place, and Josh's heart and chest slow their pacing. He slumps in the chair a little, and by the time Tyler moves to the other eye, he's slack and relaxed. Tyler hums, satisfied, and removes the cloth. Josh hears it land in the bucket with a splash. Tyler's hand pulls away, and if Josh weren't so lethargic, he'd catch it and pull it back-

But he _can't_ think about that. He immediately knows what the urge to do so means, but it can't ever become more than a passing thought. It's already thrown a new colour over the interaction they've just had.

Josh opens his eyes and stares at Tyler, searching his face for any reassurance that what just happened was platonic. It has to be, right? It's for the good of the colony, so that he can resume his command quickly. It's so he doesn't break down over what had happened in Nills' district-

Tyler bends down in front of him, so close to where Josh sits- brushing against his knee- to grab the basin and pick it up. This time Josh does stop him.

“Leave it there,” he says, gently, carefully not touching Tyler, and not commanding him either. “I'll need to wash up later anyway.”

Tyler stands up and takes a blessed step back, so that Josh can think straight.

“Thanks,” Josh says, an afterthought. He really should've thanked Tyler sooner. “How did you know I would...”

“Dissociate,” Tyler supplies. Josh has never heard the word before. “I just knew you were going to freak out somehow after you came back here, just didn't know exactly how.”

“Well.. thanks,” is all Josh can really think to say. “You're...” he freezes on the compliment, not sure where to go with it as his eyes take Tyler in, fully. The word beautiful almost gets out, but he can't say _that_ , can't ever cross that line with someone under his command. “I'm glad to have you on my team.”

Tyler stands a moment, the ghost of a person expecting more, but then he nods and clears out of the tent. Josh feels his heart start to race the moment he's gone, questioning, wondering- but it won't do him any good, will it? So Josh swallows it down. He should sleep anyway.

 

Two days later, Tyler's _gone_.

Josh hears whispers in the ranks. John still hadn't been found, and now Tyler's disappearance has crushed morale.

Too much time passes.

 

Jenna's brought to him one morning with a split lip and bloody knuckles, Michael holding her by the wrist to keep her from running back out of the tent in a fit of rage. There are tears in her eyes.

“They're saying it's him, that _he_ was the traitor, not John!”

Josh doesn't even have to ask. If she's willing to get into a fight over it, then it's about Tyler. Josh feels the same sentiment echo in his chest, but as leader, he can only afford to show so much sadness...

She misunderstands Josh's silence.

“You think that too, don't you?!” She struggles against Michael, who, even as he holds her still, has something to say.

“Josh,” he gets out. “People are losing it. Even if it _is_ him, we need it not to be.”

“I know,” Josh says, holding his hands up to placate Michael. “It's not Tyler. We've got no evidence of that.”

Michael nods and carefully lets Jenna go. She pushes out form his grasp, but doesn't run. She stands still and irritably rubs her arm.

“B-team came back from Koens's with nothing. It's been days and we've got no intel and no leads.”

“We'll try Nico's,” Josh decides- or rather, this brain, on autopilot, decides. “They're intervened for other districts before, if the mark is valuable enough.”

Michael and Jenna are silent for a moment, a wordless understanding that yes, Tyler is valuable enough. But do the bishops see the same value?

“What,” Michael says, slowly, as the question enters his mind. “What exactly did Tyler do before he came here?”

 

He doesn't have an answer. He dismisses Michael on the order to have C-team dispatched in the morning. Jenna he asks to stay behind.

“Look,” she says. “If it's about the fight, I'm sorry. I didn't punch him that hard-”

“It's not,” Josh says, running a hand over his face. “But that said...”

“Yeah yeah,” Jenna sighs, and it sounds like she's trying to be nonchalant and failing. “I won't do it again- but Josh, if people really start to believe it was him, they're not going to want him to come back.”

“I _know,_ ” Josh says. God, as if he hasn't run this over in his mind a thousand times. As if there was a single second in the last two days that he _hasn't_ thought about Tyler. “The longer we wait, the worse for everyone.”

“So let's _go_ ,” Jenna, urges, taking a few steps closer. “You and me, right now.” She moves toward the map table and traces the route with her finger. “With the two of us, stealth will be way easier- we can bypass the guards here, use the tunnels-”

“No,” Josh says, but it's so, _so_ weak. He forces himself to meet Jenna's gaze, and regrets it. “You can go with tomorrow's team if you want.”

Blue eyes trap his brown ones, too high on hours and hours of being angry, desperate, and distraught. Tyler's disappearance has hit Jenna like an overdose of steroids, whilst Josh feels like the air around him is twice as heavy.

“ _Don't you love him_?” Jenna blurts, rounding the table to jab him in the chest. “He loves you. He would _die_ for you, and this is how you're gonna repay him?!”

Josh keeps his anger in check, stifling the retort both at her aggression and at her audacity to put something into words that never had been before. Part of him wants to ask Jenna if it's true, but he can't _he can't-_

Does Tyler love him- and in what way? Does Tyler know what he does to Josh, what a mess of a man he's left behind?

“Go get some sleep,” Josh says. “Neither of us will do him any good like this.”

Jenna pulls her hand away, and even though her expression seems softer, she stands her ground.

“That's six hours he could be dying in a cell.”

“It's six hours he can use to plan his escape.”

Only now does Jenna step back, and look away.

“I... I should have more faith in him, huh?”

“Don't worry about it,” Josh says. “I'll bring the faith, you bring the anger.”

 

He meets the team when it's still dark, running on last night's stew, and coffee he'd brewed overnight. He takes his place beside Jenna, both clad in their rescue gear, lighters and torches strapped to their backs, knives on their thighs, gas masks clipped to their sides.

“I'm sorry about last night,” Jenna says, not looking at him. “I said a lot of things.”

“It's okay,” Josh mutters. What Jenna said was true, painfully true. Josh feels something for Tyler he's never felt before- but he can't ever act on it.

Josh doesn't know what goes on behind Tyler's eyes, whether the feeling is returned, whether he feels it in the same way- but he knows that Tyler would die for him. He's declared as much; he would follow his Josh anywhere. He would take a knife for him as a fellow Bandito; he would take a bullet for him as a friend.

But he won't- not today.

“Let's go,” Josh says, not just to Jenna, but to the rest of the team. “We'll find him before the sun rises.”

 

And they do, but not in a cell. It's almost scary how bold Nico is, putting Tyler up in an apartment like that, like he trusts Tyler has learned his lesson and is ready to be a prisoner again. Like he knows that the whole tower is one big cell anyway.

They make contact with him from across the street, making sure Tyler sees the flash of yellow in the window. Tyler holds up a dried yellow flower in response. Josh wants to show his face, but they can't risk giving Tyler too much information before they have him. If things go south, if they try to make Tyler talk, if Nico gets his hand on him...

Better for Tyler think he's waiting for three people and not twelve. Better for him not to know that leader of the Banditos is within the city walls, willing to risk so much for one person.

 

Tyler finds them in the tunnels that night. He's awkward about it, and it's refreshing as hell to see that it's still _Tyler_ , weird and soft and _theirs_. Josh steps forward to greet him, and the clear gasp that leaves Tyler's mouth goes straight to Josh's heart. _Good_ , Josh thinks. _He should know that he's worth it_.

There's an overwhelming pull drawing them both together, meeting in the middle of where the team is standing guard. Josh would be entirely justified in pulling Tyler into a hug, but he fears if he does he won't want to let go. There's a handshake they made up on their down time, amusingly long and intricate, but surprisingly appropriate for this situation. If Tyler remembers all the steps, its a good indicator that his mind hasn't been corrupted. And if they do this in front of everyone, their suspicions will go down.

Tyler smiles as he grabs Josh's hand and lets his fingers hold and twist around Josh's. Their fists bump, palms and knuckles touch, a quick set of beats, and then they press together and Tyler tucks his head into Josh's shoulder. It's warm, and smells like the chemical soap they use in Dema, not like the soap they make at the camp. He hears Tyler's heart beating for a second before he pulls away.

People are watching, of course. It's time to go.

Tyler knows the way out, but he doesn't argue when Josh puts him in the middle of the group rather than at the front. Tyler is one of theirs, but he's still a rescue case and needs to be protected as such. Josh leads the line instead. He trusts his people to watch Tyler. He trusts himself to lead them home.

 

They return near midnight, but it feels like the whole camp is awake. If anyone still thinks that Tyler is a traitor, they're hiding it behind a smile. Josh has the irrational urge to put his arm around Tyler and not let go, but he needs to be checked by the medic, needs to be scrubbed clean of Dema's chemicals, checked for tampering.

Josh takes in the climate of the camp and takes reports on the time he was gone. The team leaders are self sufficient but communication is key. Morale is high again, even if people are higher on the success of the mission more than they're actually happy to have Tyler back. Josh is okay with that. Tyler can stay on his team with the people who love him, and who will keep him safe from now on.

There's a commotion around the fire as Josh wanders back. He's startled to see Tyler in the middle of a crowed, having his hair buzzed off. It stings Josh a little to think of the loss, even if he's never even touched Tyler's hair.

He wants to ask, but he knows in his core that this was Tyler's idea. A fresh start, like when he'd first joined the Banditos. Dema's dust is in his hair; memories he can sweep away with the rest of the cuttings. Tyler is stone-faced, but he's still letting the others in, letting them help. Jenna's the one with razor, but many of the others have wandered over from other teams; curious, charmed. It's a good sign.

 

Tyler finds Josh at dinner, and they settle in front of the fire together. Tyler leans right up against Josh's side, bowl of stew in hand, and for once Josh isn't questioning anything. He still can't read Tyler's mind but infatuation or not, Tyler's weight on him feels _right._

“They don't season food in Dema, but _damn_ do they not season it in Trench either.” He waits a beat for Josh to react. Josh offers an amused smile, but as usual the night is heavy on his shoulders. He moves lightly against Tyler, who goes quiet and softly nudges him back.

“I was Nico's prisoner for eight,” Tyler says, his energy fading into something different, trying to match Josh's intensity. “ _Eight days_ , Josh. The least you could do is kiss me.”

Josh freezes, and the image flashes into his mind; turning and yanking Tyler to him by the collar of his jacket, by the back of his neck, feeling the bristles of newly buzzed hair on his fingertips; Tyler's gasp, his bowl clattering to the ground, potatoes collecting dirt, broth pooling out and running down the slight slope that the camp sits on, toward the fire- which wavers but burns too brightly to be put out, casting flickering light over the sides of their faces-

But he doesn't do it.

If it was taboo before Tyler disappeared, it's certainly out of the question now. Tyler's still somewhat of a suspect, and if Josh gets too close to him, the other will think he's been compromised.

“What are you to Nico?” He asks instead. Tyler knows better than to look surprised at the rejection. For a second Josh fears that Tyler will press him, or resist.

“A thorn in his side, I hope.” Tyler says. “Or a knife in his back.”

“Well he doesn't seem to see it that way,” Josh starts. “You were 'imprisoned' in your own apartment. You were allowed to come and go as you pleased, but for what cost?” Tyler opens his mouth but Josh doesn't let him in. “We found you in Koens' but Nico's district is your home, isn't it? You were allowed to travel.”

“Nico is the one I was assigned to.” Tyler says, cautiously. “Wouldn't call it a home.”

“Are you a spy?”

“I was,” Tyler says. “Sort of.” He sighs. “I was educated in psychological profiling. Nico was having me collect intel for him on the other bishops.”

“The _bishops_?” Josh echoes. “Not us?”

Tyler shakes his head.

“I'd assume he has somebody else for that.”

Josh takes this in and quietly lets some of his faith in Tyler re-instate itself.

“Are you really surprised that they don't all trust each other?” Tyler says, shaking his head. “He had me posing as his assistant to get me into meetings and take notes, compare them to their actions in the past to try to predict what they'll do in the future.”

“What is there to predict?”

“Power struggles,” Tyler said immediately. “Constantly. They're always forming and dissolving alliances. Josh, I have information that will blow your _mind_.”

“Then why didn't you tell me!?” Josh tries to sound patient, tries to _be_ patient, but if Tyler doesn't-

“Because Nico knows what I know,” Tyler says. “He knows I'd tell you where he sleeps at night- so when I escaped the first time I'm sure he moved and filled that room with guards instead. He's already changed the patrol schedules. I had to re-learn them...”

“You didn't want to put us in danger,” Josh says “But that's not your call to make Tyler, it's mine.”

“I know,” Tyler admits. “I'm sorry. I technically told you a lot of stuff- or well- helped you plan your missions right...”

“From now on you tell me everything,” Josh says. It's only at Tyler's hopeful expression that Josh realizes what he's just implied. Tyler is officially welcomed back, and yeah, he personally trusts Tyler again. Maybe more than before.

“Okay,” Tyler says. He starts out resolute, but then something changes. “ _Everything._ ”

Josh tenses for a moment and watches Tyler for perhaps a bit too long. The air is open-ended, and Josh wonders if there's something else Tyler wants to say- something akin to the way he was flirting before- but it never comes. Tyler swallows it down with another bite of stew, and turns back to the fire.

 

The night goes on and the two of them gradually fade back into conversation with those around them. People come and go from the campfire. Their sentiments are scattered- some talking business with Josh, others bringing amusing stories of things he missed while he was out rescuing Tyler. Josh is too mission-minded too often; he needs the reminder that lighter things happen in Trench, that he's helping people discover the concept of “home.”

But the Banditos are more than a home to Josh; they're everything. They're his _purpose._

They're Tyler's purpose too, he thinks. He might not have a much experience as Josh does, but it's been obvious since the first mission, since Tyler had slotted so neatly into their ranks.

Josh glances at him, just a quick look in between conversations. They've sat together for hours at this point and now Josh doesn't want to leave.

He doesn't just _trust_ Tyler; he _understands him._

 

“I should go to bed,” Tyler says softly, close to Josh's ear, meant to be heard by them and no one else. “You didn't give my tent away, did you?”

It's in jest. There's an easy hint in his tone that he knows Josh wouldn't give up on him so easily. Josh nods.

“We packed it up for the last move. It's in with the supplies.”

“I probably shouldn't have waited until midnight to ask you that, huh?”

“No,” Josh says, with a laugh. “I'll help you though.”

Tyler springs up from his seat, and the rush of cold air at Josh's side is immediate.

“I ain't saying no to that,” Tyler quips, putting on a voice. “Meet you over there?” He gestures to a sizeable patch of grass that happens to be beside Josh's tent, that Josh totally didn't leave open on purpose.

Josh nods, and watches as Tyler bounds away to the supply tent. He's tired, but content to do his rounds and make sure everyone is accounted for. When he gets back to the open space, he sees Tyler's tent roll strewn on the ground, but thinks nothing of it. He goes and helps the people on watch set up for the night. It's Jenna's turn, and Josh has to tell himself not to feel guilty that she has to stay up all night after a rescue mission. She volunteered, and it's clear she doesn't regret a thing.

“I'm calling in it for tomorrow though,” she admonishes. “If we move camp, someone will have to carry me.”

They conversation drifts to Tyler and Josh find his mind wandering. The guards on watch are the only ones out of the their tents now. Tyler should be easy to spot but he isn't. Josh walks back to their spot a little quicker now, the familiar chill of fear spreading through his chest like frostbite. He pulls out his flashlight as he walks- then jogs back to his tent. The same supplies are strewn out beside it, untouched, and Josh shines his light on and around the area, suddenly desperate for any sign of Tyler.

 

His spirit plummets when he finds one.

Lines: cut deep in the grass like wheel treads, only smaller and less consistent. Josh's mind connects the pattern to the kicking of feet; to someone being dragged away. He moves in the same direction, following the tracks as best he can as they get shallower and shallower. He doesn't care that he's alone halfway into the dark expanse of Trench at night. He doesn't care, and he doesn't flinch when Jenna reaches him, huffing from the effort of running out to catch him. He doesn't care and he doesn't move. He stares at the place his light is trained on. Everything else is crumbling.

 

Here, the tracks change. Instead of two jittery lines, they become one. A wide, steady imprint that's too big to be from just feet. It's from a whole body.

“This is where he gave up,” Josh mutters. He angles his flashlight up, to trace it along the trail. It seems to go into infinity.

“Or was knocked out,” Jenna tries. Her eyes widen as they drift up, her lips slightly parted as she thinks. “It's pointing right to Nico's district,” she says. “Does he just not care about subtlety, or...?”

“He doesn't care if we save Tyler or not,” Josh says. “He'll just come take him again if we do. That's what this is telling us.” He gestures to the trail. “That's the message.”

Jenna's quiet for a moment, but she doesn't voice her fears. She never does. Josh isn't sure if that's healthy or not. It doesn't matter.

 

There's a beat in Josh's chest, that's been building since he realized Tyler was missing. It's not just his heart, but a war drum, getting louder and louder; more and more intense. He can't ignore the pounding anymore. The fear morphs into rage.

“ _Don't follow me_.”

He charges forward.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said I would get this out before Trench released! I edited some of the tags so please check those before you proceed!!

“Josh!” Jenna calls out, but he's already left her far behind. Even if she starts to run now, she won't catch up. His body is moving rigorously, but he barely feels the strain amid his focus on following the trail. He switches his light off then the moon peaks out from the clouds and casts grey over the steppe.

There is nothing but the mission. There is no one but Tyler.

 

Unnatural light is aglow on the horizon. They're the sterile white streetlamps of Nico's district, and from this distance the city casts a silhouette of itself. He hears the rusting of fabric before he sees it, and for the first time since he bolted, Josh stops moving. He blinks out at the view, urging his eyes to focus enough to spot movement in the dark.

He sees something, but it isn't moving the way he thought. Josh keeps his light off, he holds his breath, and he creeps forward. The only cover within miles is a half dead shrub that Josh takes care not to brush with his jacket. In the daylight he'd show right through the sparse branches, but thankfully the shadows are much larger at night. From here he can make out Nico sitting on the ground. He's breathing heavily enough for Josh to hear.

It stirs something triumphant inside him to see a bishop so breathless. Granted it's terrifying that Nico came for Tyler _without a horse_ and has managed to drag him this far, and granted Josh would be winded at half the distance- but it's still proof that Nico is _human_. Most people in Dema would go their whole lives without seeing a bishop so much as sweat. The veils, the makeup, the sharpness of their teeth; they were all just there to make Nico seem alien- or divine. But he is, and has always been _just a man_.

And beside that man lies Tyler.

Josh will carry him home if he has to.

He wants to charge again, but there's no way to guarantee he'll come out of this alive.

All that Josh has to his name is a jacket and a flashlight. Nico has a flowing cloak that's probably got a few knives hidden away, and he's got superior strength, superior sight, and a superiority complex. It's possible Nico has good hearing too- stealth might be impossible.

 

Josh goes anyway. Surprise is the only advantage he has.

No- that's wrong. He also has Tyler.

Tyler, who's sitting up and blinking at Nico, like he's just woken up. He's been conscious the whole time, but in a trance that he's only just coming out of.

“Oh my,” Nico is saying, as Tyler's eyes focus on him. “You must be thirsty Tyler.” A canteen is handed to him, and Tyler stares at the bottle before figuring out how to unscrew the cap. He does so slowly, as if he's not sure whether he really should or not.

“Bishop?” Tyler asks. “Where are we...?”

“I'm here, Tyler,” Nico coos. “We're on our way home.”

“What happened? I don't...”

Nico reaches out and nudges the water bottle, lifting it to Tyler's lips.

“You're delirious- some more water will help you remember.”

Tyler's eyes dart around nervously, to the canteen, to Nico, and then up, to lock onto Josh.

Josh's hand flies up, and he puts a pleading finger to his lips, 'please be quiet!'

Tyler's gaze carefully drifts back to Nico.

“ _No_.”

Josh stops moving, stops breathing, and silence is more than just tense- it's _dangerous_.

Nico tilts his head just so.

“ _What was that_ , Tyler?” His voice is deceptively pleasant.

Tyler gulps.

“I-I said no. The water isn't going to make me remember, it's going to make me forget!”

Another silence.

Then, Nico laughs.

Josh uses the horrible sound to cover his footfalls, and pads closer, just a few more steps-

And then he stops again. Nico's amusement fades.

“Well this is certainly more entertaining than the last time you figured it out,” he drawls. “Seems like I'll have to work harder to flush it out of you.”

At the slightest of Nico's movements, Josh is lunging for him. The bishop has only just reached for Tyler before Josh is on his back, shoving him forward and into the dirt face down. Nico's caught off guard, but there's no yelp or gasp of surprise. He struggles instantly, however, flinging an arm out to reclaim some leverage.

Tyler scrambles back to standing, and grabs the canteen where it's fallen on the ground and is leaking into the dirt. He drops to his knees and loops it around Nico's neck in a fluid motion, and then shoves the thing at Josh.

Josh should know better than to let up on Nico, even if it's to stop holding him down and start strangling him; but in the moment his entire being trusts Tyler so implicitly that he sits up and pulls the strap taught around Nico's neck.

 

The bishops other arm flies out and both brace their elbows on the ground. For a terrifying moment Nico pushes up with unnatural strength and lifts Josh with him, but then Tyler's letting out a grunt of exertion as he sweeps his leg knock out the supports. Nico slumps back onto his stomach, and Josh dips with him. His flailing arms are caught by Tyler, who kneels to clamp them between his hands and between his knees. Josh doesn't doubt that it's taking all of his strength just to keep them still.

A sharp blow to his lower back makes Josh wince. Nico's kicking back, but his only option now is to just pull the canteen strap tighter. Another kick, and another, and the sounds of indignant struggle. Aside from Nico's grunts, no one speaks; there's no anger, fear, or gratefulness here. There are no words to say when the bishop finally goes still-

But immediately after, Tyler is pushing Josh, his face pale with panic. Josh releases the strap as he lets up. Tyler is quick to dislodge it and get a hand on Nico's pulse.

Tyler relaxes suddenly, and releases his hold on the bishop's hands.

“Is he...?” Josh asks, not sure why he can't seemed to say the word. He can't afford to be bothered by the idea of killing someone- especially _this_ someone.

And yet, his heart lifts when Tyler says no.

His mind, however, will not let go of it's logic. He's been engraved with the pragmatism of a leader; he can't not argue.

“Why not? We could do it right now! We could end this!”

“It wouldn't end anything,” Tyler counters. He stands. Josh joins him. “He's been ready to die for years. There's a successor in place who will be just as bad- if not worse. It's not one guy, Josh- it's the whole damn system.”

“So then what?!” This is not how Josh wanted this to go. “He'll go back to the city and tell everyone where we are!”

“No,” Tyler mutters, and suddenly drops to pick up the canteen. He shakes it lightly, listening for the sound of anything still left inside. There's enough. Josh understands.

Together they roll over a very groggy bishop. Josh wonders why he's taking so long to recover but then reminds himself that Nico _is_ old. Maybe his performance enhancing meds don't make him resistant to strangulation...

“You've been through a lot, bishop,” Tyler mocks. Josh watches as he tips the canteen to Nico's lips. Confused and weak, the man drinks. “The water will help you forget...”

It dribbles down his chin and makes him splutter, but Nico does his very best to take it all in. Tyler holds the back of Nico's head, supporting, making sure he takes every last drop. The canteen is carefully set on the ground. Tyler withdraws his hand and lets Nico's head thunk back down. When he stands, his gaze finds Josh, and the moonlight makes everything blue and cold- and now that their eyes have adjusted, it really doesn't seem that dark. Josh turns in the direction of the camp, and Tyler does too.

 

Together, they run.

 

The hours that follow are a whirlwind of activity. Josh has the unfortunate job of waking up the whole camp and instructing them to pack up. As Tyler explains, the effects of the drugged water are only reliable up to a few hours. Nico might forget the whole incident, or he might recall enough to piece together what had happened. Either way, they need to move camp, _now_.

Until dawn the crowd trudges along in silence, and _at_ dawn they find the safest spot in the immediate area to begin rebuilding. The city's within their view- it always is- but they've gone plenty far enough from the old camp to be safe.

 

Josh and Tyler make their rounds. They help wherever they can and they don't complain.

It's lucky that their people trust Josh enough not to ask, because as vital as information like Nico's whereabouts is, Josh would like to postpone talking about it for as long as possible.

 

It only works for so long though, because telling the council is the right thing to do, and he obviously knows that. He drags Tyler in with him, has him stand at in the middle of the circle and tell everyone everything he knows. Josh knows he's tired; he wishes he didn't have to make Tyler do this, but there is absolutely no alternative. Tyler understands.

His voice has the timbre of a man who's halfway to tears but still able to hold them off. He tells everyone everything he knows. At the end Josh proposes a motion to put Tyler on the council as a strategist. Tyler might have the energy to look surprised but he doesn't show it, which might be the reason he gets a unanimous vote in his favour.

 

After the meeting Jenna comes to them on the guise of bringing them some food. She really there to hug Tyler though, pressing forward to clutch him tight, giving Tyler a faceful of greasy blonde hair, sniffing loudly but otherwise showing no weakness. Josh wonders if this the part where he gets jealous, but all this really makes him realize is the fact that he hasn't hugged Tyler yet. He hasn't done much of anything to show affection, aside from, you know, _rescuing_ him. He could do; he's sure Tyler will be receptive like he was with Jenna, but something is keeping the two of them in suspended animation.

And suspended they stay until well after lunch, when the camp is sorted out and mostly sleeping. There's a lot more to do but the fires are out and the guards are posted.

 

Josh has had to put off pitching his own tent in favour of helping everyone else, but now he finds himself and Tyler setting it up together.

“Do you uh,” Josh starts. He can't, and doesn't know how to finish. “I'm sorry I didn't ask you about the council vote first,” he tries instead.

Tyler shrugs. He barely looks up from where he's tying down a tent flap.

“Well it happened, so....”

“It kinda just popped into my head,” Josh confesses. “Are you mad?”

He unfurls his thin bedroll and lays his sleeping bag on top. The tent is done now; just the little things need to be set out.

Tyler unfolds Josh's wooden chair. He pulls the empty washbasin out of the duffel bag, but stops on his way to place it on the ground. He stands there for a moment, and turns the thing over in his hands, feeling out the dents and scrapes.

“Of course I'm not mad,” he sighs, finally setting it down on the chair. “I just would've liked to stay on your team.”

Josh moves the short distance from the bed to Tyler. His tent is one of the largest in the camp, but that's not saying much. His hands reach for Tyler and grasps him steady by the biceps. The need to comfort is overwhelming- but caught within that is the need to touch, to care, to _hold_. Josh has resisted this so many times, but now his usual objections don't seem good enough- not after all that's happened.

“You're on my team,” Josh tells him. “You _stay_ on my team. Council or not.”

“Suspected traitor or not,” Tyler mutters, and rolls his eyes. Josh balks at him, and gives him the lightest shake.

“You still think they suspect you? After _that_?”

“Could be a ruse,” Tyler reasons. “To lure me into a false sense of security.”

“ _Tyler,_ ” Josh says. There's so much weight in Tyler's words; too much history, too many years of carefully learning how to doubt and lie and pretend. Josh is going to help him unravel all of it. “It's not false. You're safe now.”

“Until he takes me again.”

“I'll just take you back.”

Tyler's quiet for a moment, and the apprehension in his face seems to morph into something else. His knitted brow relaxes, his eyes go deep and wide, and he looks up at Josh with something shifting inside him.

“ _Will you_?”

The double meaning is there, confirmed by the smirk in Tyler's eyes- but it's still hinging on something emotional. He's coming to Josh entirely as himself, melancholy, strength, and affection all rolled into one expression; one heart yearning so hard that Josh can _feel_ it.

 

It's as if they fall into each other; Tyler's lips, Josh's lips, colliding and then clinging together for a kiss that drains away very last of the tension between them. It's stronger; it's more important than everything else that's happened.

 _Tyler's safe now_. He's safe and he's here, and Josh can't remember why he would ever resist this, why he would keep himself from having what he needs- what he's needed for some time now. Everything's crumbling- but it was always meant to, wasn't it?

Tyler's impassioned in Josh's arms. He guides them to the bedroll and lays Josh down, gracefully perching on top. They slot together again, kissing, kissing, kissing, and then Josh's scarf, jacket, and shirt, all seem to fall away. He reaches for Tyler, tugging at his clothes and watches him sit up to unzip. He crosses a blurry patch of sun, diffused by the nylon of the tent, illuminating his buzzed hair and his dirty skin- and Josh is overwhelmed. Tyler's only just shucking his coat off when Josh drags him back down to kiss him again, again.

This is all he wants, Josh thinks. This is what he _fought for._ In a moment of desperation, he gets an elbow down as leverage to flip them over. Tyler yelps, but he settles with a smile, with a breathy “okay Josh.”

Josh leans down and captures Tyler again. He doesn't know how to stop and he doesn't have to. Tyler's already reaching for Josh's pants to pop the zipper. They only need a second to express the consent between them; all green-lit.

 

Josh lets up only to get them both naked, and now he's the breathless one. When they crash back together, Tyler's skin is hot against his. The smell of sweat drifts between them but it's just another part of Tyler that Josh wants to feel for himself. He drags his kiss from Tyler's lips to the side of his jaw and down. He gives his attention to Tyler's neck, then his collarbone, the top of his chest...

When Josh flattens his tongue against a nipple, it's as if something in Tyler snaps. Tyler's mouth falls open to let out an unfiltered moan, and his back arches taught and desperate, curving convex, like he can't give himself to Josh fast enough.

Josh molds his hands to Tyler's ribs and runs them down his torso until he finds the jut of Tyler's hips. Tyler's already reacting to the touch, hips squirming side to side and up. Tyler's cock is flushed dark with full hardness. It's got the softest curve, just like the rest of him, framed with a soft base of pubic hair that disperses along his inner thighs. Josh shifts down the blanket to the very end, makes Tyler spread his legs over the sides to accommodate him. In the next second he's leaning down to lick off the precum pearling at Tyler's head, making Tyler's whole body twitch, making Josh pause until Tyler nods for him to continue. Tyler's hand finds Josh's cheek and holds it.

“Please,” he whispers, pulling down too gently to be anything but a gesture. “Josh, please.”

Josh takes the head in his mouth, and goes down.

He can tell that Tyler is doing his very best not to buck into his mouth, but he's also grabbing for Josh's hair and pulling it. The tug sparks something like pleasure that blooms through Josh, and he wonders if he's ever had his hair pulled like that. He'd probably remember if he had.

Tyler's smooth and full of heat in his mouth. Josh has done this the odd time but there's such a difference in the level of passion, the amount that he really _wants_ this.

It makes the slide of Tyler's cock feel so _good_ between his lips, makes Tyler taste and smell of pure arousal, makes it entirely possible to take Tyler in as far as he can, until he's nose-deep in black curls and letting his eyes flutter closed. There's a gag in his throat but he fights it off. All Josh wants to do is swallow Tyler down over and over and over. So he does.

Tyler's got both hands in his hair now, flexing like cat's claws as he uselessly tries to hold back his moans. Josh can't help but hum in agreement. He realizes just how hard he is himself, and he does his best to let Tyler know.

Josh opens his eyes on the next upstroke, but Tyler's not looking. His head's thrown back and his back is so arched at all Josh really sees are the ridges of ribs and two nipples hardened to points.

Josh pulls off. He sits up, feeling the need to reconnect. Tyler's a wreck of a man, just laying there and breathing, chest, cheeks and lips flushed red.

Still, he livens up after a moment and in a flurry of limbs, springs from the bedroll. Josh knows better than to panic; Tyler's not going anywhere in that state- and sure enough he only gets as far as the large bag- his own, which he's left in the middle of the floor. He doesn't have much to fill it with, but it's the standard sized bag the weavers make for everyone. Josh knows from past glimpses that Tyler's got a meagre supply of essentials: soaps, tape, clothes; and then his own packed up tent in a compact bag.

Josh swallows down the question of whether or not Tyler needs help setting it up later. He doesn't, because he's not sleeping in it tonight.

 

As if to confirm, Tyler pulls his own bedroll out of the bag and takes the few step back to Josh. He hands him something else he's grabbed; a little white squeeze bottle of medical lubricant swiped form a Dema clinic, half full. Josh looks up at Tyler, who shrugs, and starts to roll his sleeping bag out beside Josh's.

“You want me to,” Josh starts, and his stomach does a little flop at the thought. He's sure what'll happen tonight, but he'd assumed that mutual blowjobs would be the furthest they went. “Or- do you want to...?”

“I want you inside me,” Tyler says, matter-of-factly. “That okay?”

Josh blinks a few times. He'd love for his mouth to start working again, but his dick is hogging all the brain power.

“Ye-es,” he says. “Yes.”

“Cool,” Tyler says, and kisses him. It takes a few seconds, but soon enough Josh unfreezes and gets his hands back on Tyler where they belong. There's more room on the roll now, since Tyler ingeniously set up his sleeping bag beside Josh's. It means that when Tyler tugs Josh to lay on his back again, he can lean on his side and poke at the lube still clutched in Josh's hand.

“Gotta open me up,” Tyler says. Josh knows this obviously, but hearing Tyler say it is far better than acting like he doesn't need to be told. He squeezes some lube onto his fingertips and reaches over. Tyler hums in light approval and shifts his butt closer to Josh's face, so that Josh doesn't have to extend his arm to prep him. Tyler throws one leg over Josh's chest, giving Josh a spread he'd only ever dreamed of seeing. Josh reaches up to touch, rubbing his dry hand over the cheeks, before resting it on Tyler's thigh. With the other hand he presses forward until the pad of his thumb is on the rim of Tyler's hole, and rubs a slow circle. Tyler's body goes rigid for a second, and Josh nearly pulls away in alarm, but then a hand his flying back to grab Josh's wrist.

“It's okay,” Tyler says, his face out of view. “You do me, I'll do you, okay?”

Josh is about to ask what that means when he feels warm fingers curl around his cock. The heat sparks up through him, his dick responding to the first touch it's had in a while. As with having Tyler in his mouth, Josh suddenly wants _more_. He cants his hips up, shoving his dick further into Tyler's hand, showing him.

“Yeah,” Tyler says, and now he does look back at Josh, twisting a little to see him. “And you don't have to be gentle.”

“But I want to be,” Josh blurts. Tyler's quiet for a moment, just breathing.

“Okay,” he says, and there's something caught up inside him when he says it. The hand on Josh's wrist pulls on it, making the tip of Josh's lubed thumb press against Tyler's hole until it suddenly pops inside. Tyler sighs dreamily, and releases his hand. “Okay...”

Josh pulls the thumb out and experimentally slides it back in, before replacing it with a thinner finger. He takes it up to the knuckle, watching for a sign of pain that never comes.

The hand on Josh's cock starts to move. Tyler plays with the precum at the head, spreading it around, teasing the idea of a full stroke, but not quite delivering. Josh isn't the slightest bit frustrated though. He so damn sensitive already that he's not sure he can handle anything more than this. This way he can concentrate on sliding his index finger all the way into Tyler now, feeling the warmth inside, feeling where he needs to stretch.

Josh's eyes slide shut again, as he sinks so deep in the feeling of Tyler playing with his dick. He lets his own hand work on instinct, tuning himself into Tyler, to the little ways he clenches and relaxes, to the highs and lows of his soft moans.

Tyler's on his cock, on his fingertips, draped over his chest, in his tent, in his _bed_ \- and everything else seems to dissolve around them. It's only a few minutes before Josh is carefully adding another finger, still cautious, but met with only more pleasure. When he adds this third, he feels something hot on the head of his cock- sending a bolt of SENSATION through him- making his eyes shoot open, eliciting a full body shiver. Tyler immediately takes his mouth off of Josh's dick and sits up, turning around to check on him.

“Too much,” Josh breathes, and he loosens the hand that he's unconsciously clamped onto Tyler's thigh. “S-sorry.”

Tyler rolls off of him, does a 180, and perches back onto Josh's hips. He's facing Josh this time, and leaning down to press his lips softly against Josh's. There's something suddenly so tender about that, that makes Josh wonder who's rescuing who today. Josh knows he'll go to the ends of the earth to give Tyler peace and shelter, and safety- but no he feels he's catching another glimpse of what Tyler will do for him. Josh closes his eyes and Tyler takes the hint.

The softest press against one of his eyelids, warm breath puffing out from Tyler's nose and fanning over Josh's face; he lingers a moment before moving to the other eye, to kiss just as carefully.

Josh feels the fabric of the sleeping bag against his back, and the heat where Tyler's perched on him. Everywhere else is cool. Tyler pulls away only slightly, but Josh still doesn't open his eyes.

“Are you ready?” Tyler whispers. His forehead bumps against Josh's. Josh nods.

 

Tyler lifts up off of him, getting a hand back around to grasp at Josh's dick again. Like the short-lived blowjob attempt, it's almost overwhelming, but Josh bites his lip and breathes through his nose, even as he knows what about to follow. Something warm and tight presses up against his head, and his eyes shoot open. He feels Tyler opening up around him, and their eyes lock as Tyler sits _all the way down_.

They moan in unison, and for a good few seconds are otherwise lost for words. Then Tyler falls forward and kisses Josh, and in doing so starts to move. The pleasure enveloping Josh's dick multiplies, and Josh bucks up involuntarily. Tyler doesn't flinch, he just deepens kiss.

 _I'm inside Tyler,_ Josh thinks. _And Tyler's inside me._

Tyler's braced with one hand, but the other he weaves into Josh's hair and pulls again- and Josh's whole body convulses. Tyler's all around him, and he's powerless to do anything but grab Tyler's hips and hold on. Their movements become more focused now, and Josh is tensing his thighs enough to give Tyler something stable to thrust down onto. If it weren't for the mindless rhythm of it, Josh wouldn't be able to last, but there's something about working _with_ Tyler to feel this pleasure, that keeps him from losing himself.

Tyler ends the kiss if only to moan into Josh's ear.

“ _Josh_ ,” he gasps, punctuated by the soft slap of skin that's starting to sound throughout the tent. “H-harder.”

There is no part of Josh left that can refuse that. Josh grips Tyler's hips more firmly, and raises his own at the same time that he pulls Tyler down- _hard_. The result is the feeling of Tyler's hole clenched tight around the very base of his dick. Josh has to spread his legs a little wider to get him all the way there, but _there_ he is and Tyler's choking out a broken curse.

“Yes,” he gasps, and Josh agrees. “God yeah, _take me_.”

Josh does. He pulls Tyler down onto him, over and over and over again, and he doesn't realize when his eyes fall shut again. All he knows is the inside of Tyler, all he feels is the _heartpoundingheatpleasure_ building in intensity between them. Tyler's hand leaves his hair and curls around the back of his neck instead, and the forehead press is back- only now they're both damp with sweat, sliding against each other but too desperate to care. Tyler's thrusts devolve into Josh just holding him still, white knuckled as he fucks up into Tyler, as he finally starts to loose himself inside this precious, precious thing he's he found.

“Tyler,” he chokes out. “I'm gonna...”

“ _Do it_ ,” Tyler begs immediately. “Please, oh my god Josh, _please do it_ -”

That's all it takes. That tight pleasure doesn't flow through him so much as it just shoots into his every nerve. His mind focuses on a single point- _Tyler_ \- and everything else is blasted away. The shockwaves come in quick succession, until they finally ebb and he opens his eyes to realize that he's still weakly thrusting, and Tyler's still moaning his name.

 

Josh, still moving on instinct, shoves a hand between their sweaty bodies to grip Tyler's cock and jerk it roughly. There's more than enough sweat and precum to make it work- and at this point Tyler's so wrecked that all he needs is a fast rhythm and a tight hand. Tyler clenches around Josh's cock, shoves his face into Josh's neck, and shouts against Josh's skin. He spills out warm between both their stomachs, coating Josh's hand and wrist. Tyler goes quiet.

 

Everything, even time, slows down.

 

 

“I'm cold,” Tyler says. Josh stirs himself up from the half sleep he'd fallen into.

“My dick's still in you,” he observes.

“Yeah,” Tyler shrugs, from where's he mostly settled. “But I'm _cold_.”

Josh chuckles and braces Tyler lightly. He's is soft but they're both still soaked in sweat- and other things- so it eases right out. Tyler shudders.

“Now I'm even colder.” He rolls off and grabs the corner of his sleeping bag. For a moment he struggles to unzip the thing, but then he's settling back down against Josh's side as he throws it over them. It occurs to Josh that they're both going to have to do some laundry later... but it's so worth it.

The space under the blankets warms up, and with Tyler at his side, Josh finally, blessedly, falls asleep.

 

He wakes up later, and opens his eyes to a considerably darker, colder tent. Panic shocks him into sitting up, but Tyler's hands are on him in the next second, smoothing over his cheek in the dark.

“I'm here,” Tyler coos, sliding back into bed beside Josh. He's got a full set of clean clothes on. “It's dinner.”

“Ugh,” Josh sighs, even as he tentatively steals a kiss to Tyler's cheek. “Guess we should eat something.”

 

Ten minutes later Josh is sitting in front of the campfire with Tyler, eating possibly the best bowl of stew he's ever had. His whole body is relaxed, and he does his best not blush every time he thinks about why. They eat in relative silence, until Tyler nudges Josh's knee with his own.

“You okay?” he asks. Josh isn't sure why he needs to. Everything's fine- better than fine. He tells Tyler as much.

“Why?”

Tyler's voice turns soft.

“You were crying.” There's a pause. “During... you know.”

“Oh,” is all Josh can really think to say. _Oh_.

“It's okay,” Tyler says. “I cried a little too.”

“Oh my god,” Josh laughs, and has to look away. “We really are like that, huh?”

“We are now I guess,” Tyler smiles. “I mean- if you want.”

Josh nods. He does want.

“Of course,” he says, quiet as he can. It's as much as he gets out before they're joined by several of Josh's raiding team. Mark, Michael, and Jenna sit closest to them, bringing with them the lively conversation they'd started at their watch post. Josh smiles and joins in, content to have Tyler beside him. It's ten minutes in that Tyler sets his bowl on the ground and takes Josh's hand instead.

 

Josh stops breathing and goes tense. Jenna stops talking, and stares-

 

“Cool,” she says brightly, and then launches back into her story.

 

One word is all it takes to makes Josh settle back into his skin.

He looks at Tyler and he knows there's something vulnerable in his eyes because Tyler squeezes his hand, and nods that it's okay.

Because it _is_ okay.

For all the lives in Josh's care, all that's at stake- and for all that _he_ has tried to resist it- it's okay.

 

He deserves to be free.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Time to go back and proofread the first part a little better.  
> -So hey Trench is out in 3 hours for me.  
> -See you all on the other side.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! A few things:
> 
> -While looking for a title I realized that "trench" is a synonym for "defense" (aka defending in suspense) and I think that's pretty neat  
> -The next part will be out in a few days (yes, really) because I want the whole thing out before Trench releases (or leaks)...  
> -Thank you to Mars and Ella who will undoubtedly read this even though I'm still not fully caught up on your fics... I'm sorry and I love you  
> -The summary line is from part 2, I'm sorry I was sneaky. Yes they gon fuk bye


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